It's Basic
by chiishio
Summary: NaruSaku. The new Hokage has called a new law for every shinobi, new and old, to know basic medicine. It seemed like a good idea, but what happens when Sakura is teamed up with her blond, idiot teammate?


Whoa. Hey again. Sorry to say, but I don't think I'll be updating 'Excuse Me' for a LONG while. For one thing, I've lost interest and two, I just don't know what to do with the plot.

On a side note, I'm much more interested -aka obsessed- with the Naruto fandom and NaruSaku is a new love of mine. ;D Probably stronger than azureshipping. Ohoho, blasphemy.

Anyway, here's something I'll be working on from time to time. I hope you guys enjoy it. C:

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me and in no way, shape, or form do I profit from this.

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Sakura's fairly certain that in her sixteen years of life, she's never been more stressed out and exhausted at the same time. Definitely not a good combo for a kunoichi who was known for having a temper almost as bad as the female alcoholic Hokage, and the strength to match. But it was expected. Training for two years with said Hokage; you were bound to pick up some traits. The bodacious blond didn't go easy on her either, nor would Sakura have wanted her to. If she didn't, the rosette wouldn't be where she was today.

So why was the Legendary Sucker's apprentice stressed and exhausted? Not to mention getting increasingly ticked off. She had just worked a fourteen-hour shift at the hospital, the new rule requiring all ninjas to possess basic knowledge of medicine was short-handing the staff, and is now in her master's office, discussing teaching said basic knowledge. To Naruto.

Somebody hated her.

"But why, Tsunade-sama? Naruto has just spent nearly three years training with Jiraiya, he must've taught him _something_." It wasn't like Sakura to complain, especially to her master –she had been taught early on that complaining would get your rear end handed to you- but training with Naruto just didn't settle right with her, especially without a fight.

"Aww, come on Sakura-chan!" the problem at hand made a move to touch her, but pulled back, thinking better of it. If he did, she just might have to break that arm. "It won't be that bad!"

Yes. Yes it would. But his wide contagious grin makes her second-think just how bad it was going to be. It was true she had built up a sort of tolerance for him, if you will, but Naruto was Naruto. And Naruto knew how to antagonize her. The only thing that had changed was she knew how to ignore it better.

She decided to put her new skill to work and do just that, ignore him, knowing that if she responded, she might actually break his arm. "Isn't there someone else? I work hospital shifts too and it has been so busy lately..."

Tsunade gave her a pointed stare. She looked a little stressed and exhausted just like she, leaning on her hands, elbows on the desk and dark circles under her eyes. "Sakura, quit complaining. This is the kind of behavior I'd expect from Naruto, not my pupil." That sobered her up, feeling her cheeks flare in embarrassment once she realized she _was _complaining (that in itself wasn't something she regularly did. She was a person who took things in stride) an awful lot.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled quietly, ashamed at herself. "If there's no one else, then I can do it. No problem."

The blond Hokage smiled tiredly but thankfully before a much louder and rambunctious blond interrupted her. "Awesome! Training with Sakura!"

How long did she have to do this again?

--

Naruto would never admit it, but he was a little miffed that Tsunade-baa-chan thought he needed to learn medicine. Bah! What the hell did the old lady know? He thought he was pretty damn strong, thank you very much! He wasn't messing around the _whole_ time –but maybe just a little- when the Ero-senin took him away from the village for that long while. Besides, Sakura-chan could heal him even if the enemy got lucky and injured him. If she couldn't do it, no one could!

But it wasn't like he could pass up a chance to hang out with his longtime crush and favorite cherry blossom, Sakura-chan. It was the perfect opportunity to show her just how cool he was. Yeah. If thing's went as he had planned in his head, she'd be falling head over heels for him in no time.

However, it didn't look like 'no time' would be anytime soon. He'd have to woo her first, or perhaps get on her good side. She seemed a little ticked off that she had to train him. Hey, it wasn't like he _wanted_ to learn all the boring shit. Being with Sakura-chan just made it a million times better, and if she had spent all this time learning about the doctor whatever; it must be a little cool, right?

Right.

The two were walking down the street, Naruto a few steps behind, hands laced behind his head and watching his new sensei- No, no. That wasn't right. Sakura-chan wasn't his sensei. That was just _weird_. She was his tutor. Yeah, much better. Sakura-chan, the tutor. Well, now that he thought about it Sakura-chan, his girlfriend, sounded better than all of it put together. But one step at a time he supposed. She'd fall in love with him soon enough.

"So, uh, Sakura-chan," he knew she was listening even if her head was still facing forward. His sharp eyes catching her shoulders tensing just slightly when he called out her name the indication she had heard him. "What do you have to teach me anyway?"

It was quiet for a moment, and he huffed a little before opening his mouth again, but she beat him to the punch. Not literally, thank goodness, but she was answering him –finally- before he could ask her again. He didn't like repeating himself much anyway.

"Probably just how to wrap injuries, CPR," she paused for a moment, and Naruto was already wrinkling his nose at the thought of how bor- "Simple stuff."

Just as he thought. Boring. He could wrap injuries just fine; however, practicing CPR with Sakura-chan was just fine with him. So long as the CPR she was talking about involved him putting his mouth to hers. No matter _how_ innocent it was supposed to be. Just the thought of getting that close to Sakura-chan had him a little giddy as he walked, a slight spring in his step.

And Sakura, for her part, was planning the exact opposite. She tried to remember if there was a dummy or the like somewhere hidden in the hospital, and there should be. It wasn't like there was a free person no matter where you went for no matter what you needed. She'd have to ask around for one subtly so Naruto wouldn't catch wind of what she was doing, and try and sabotage her plan before it was put into action.

Actually, no, scratch that. If he _did_ try anything, she'd just kick his ass for it. There, that sounded much better and didn't take much effort. So she'd have to 'kiss' Naruto, but it was all in the name of medicine, right?

Doomed. She was doomed.

They reach the hospital fairly quickly, as Naruto had decided to keep his mouth shut the rest of the way besides the occasional greeting to someone he knew. Sakura still found it rather odd that after a village that hated him so much, that treated him so poorly, how could he still be the friendly, selfless, determined, idiotic, strong, blond, blue-eyed-

"Ahhh! S-Sakura-chan! Watch out!"

Too late. Before she can even blink a door is slammed into her face and she backpedals, tripping over her sandals while letting out a cry of pain and falling on her bottom. It feels like her nose might be broken, and the person on the other side of the hospital door looks shocked and concerned. There's blood all over her hands from where she wiped under her nose.

Ow.

"Geez! Sakura-chan, are you all right?" The reason to all her daydreaming is kneeling down by her side, looking at her in worry. "You're bleeding all over! We should get you to the ho..sp… Hey. We're here."

"Idiot," she grumbles and uses his shoulder to assist her in standing up. But he's right and he seems to have no problem taking it upon himself to wrap an arm around her waist, steadying her as she sways slightly. Her head spins as her temples throb, an ache starting behind her forehead. The door hadn't just hit her nose; it practically smashed into her entire face.

With one arm around her companion's neck, and the other holding her nose tenderly, they shuffle into the hospital, a few nurses looking up in surprise when the head medic's, and Hokage, pupil walks in with a bleeding nose and leaning on her blond team mate. A few patrons around the main hall blink a few times before getting back to work, but one particularly new nurse, that had been working under Sakura, hurried up to the two of them. Her voice was high in distress, brown eyes wide with concern.

"Sakura-san! Your nose!"

Naruto tries to muffle a small laugh with a cough at her side, and she kicks his shin sneakily. He lets out a yelp in return, but keeps his mouth shut, some quiet whining the only exception.

"Yeah, I had an accident," she explains, pulling her hand away from her nose. The nurse gasps in what could only be horror. Was it that bad? It stings a lot and she's pretty sure it's fractured or been misplaced.

"Oh! We should get you checked in right away!" No, really, was it that horrible? Yeah, it hurt pretty badly but she'd had worse. For one thing, getting a chakra infused punch to the gut was a million times more painful than some smashed nose. She couldn't breathe properly for what seemed like hours.

She glances at the blond, and narrows her eyes at the very small smile he was wearing. Probably from the fact that his arm was around her and she had let him for so long. Usually, the only contact going on between the two was punches. And they all came from Sakura's end.

Actually, this might be the first time that Sakura had ever allowed Naruto to touch her normally. The thought makes her brow furrow as the new nurse leads her into a room, telling her to take her time and leaving her alone with the idiot.

Wonderful.

"So uh," he scratches the back of his head as his eyes roam the room, trying to keep his eyes away from hers. "You okay? I mean, I know I asked before but I didn't get a straight answer so…"

"Yes," she sighs, delicately touching her nose. "I'm fine."

"That nurse seemed pretty worried," he grins, clearly in the mood to tease a little. But he was always in the mood.

"She's new," she supplies, and starts healing her nose, wincing only slightly.

But Naruto catches it and shuffles closer to her bedside, placing a warm hand on her shoulder gently. He notices the bare part of her skin is incredibly soft, and his fingertips subtly brush its silky texture. How could such a violent –albeit beautiful- girl be so damn soft?

If Sakura notices, she doesn't care to stop him as she's more focused on making sure her nose isn't crooked. So Naruto takes his time to look at her. He hadn't done it in a while. It might be creepy to most people, but when Sakura wasn't looking, sometimes he'd find himself just _staring_ and he wouldn't even realize it until someone snapped him out of it.

Sakura was _nice_ to stare at, and he's sure a few people would testify. Though, he'd have to kick their asses later for even _thinking_ of looking at his Sakura-chan.

"Oh," Naruto's snapped out of his daze as the cherry blossom speaks, her nose looking a little more normal now. "I almost forgot about your training." She looks thoughtful as her hand is pulled away from her face, letting it dangle at her side. "We can start now. Can you tell what was wrong with my nose?"

Her nose? He wrinkles his own in thought, looking at it from his spot a couple of feet away. "Uh, I can't really tell from here," he admits, scratching the back of his head. Sakura rolls her eyes before grabbing a fistful of his jacket, tugging him closer and making him squawk in surprise.

"What about now?"

His heart thunders beneath his chest, his eyes only a few inches away from her nose. He tries to focus –really, he does- but it's hard to when he can feel, and taste, her sweet breath as it fans across his lips and nose, making him swallow hard and his cheeks to heat in nervousness. Had he ever been this close to Sakura-chan? Without the risk of getting punched?

Was there a risk now?

"Well?"

"I, uh…" his brain doesn't seem to want to function with him. He's looking at her nose, but only because he's too damn frightened to look into her emerald green eyes. If he does, he's fairly certain he'll get his ass kicked if she sees how they're almost glazed over with how badly he wants to kiss her at this moment. He wets his lips and takes another hard swallow, his fingers curling into his palm, nails biting into the skin and knuckles turning white with his restraint.

Kiss her, something screams at him and he feels his face slowly inch closer, eyes finally drifting up to hers, begging, _pleading_ with her silently not to kick his ass after this. If she even speaks, he's positive that they'll both end up lip-locked since he can feel the barest of softness tickling his lips.

He's almost ready to take the plunge. Closer…

Dokun.

Closer.

Dokun.

She's not moving. Was that a good sign? Surely she's noticed his eyes level with hers, his own breath puffing across her soft pink lips. God, he wants to kiss her. His eyes close slowly and he can hear her breath hitch slightly when their lips make the barest of touches.

"Sakura-san!"

The spell is broken and Naruto pulls away, flying backwards into the wall with the force needed to break from the hold Sakura had no idea she had on him. His back collides with the wall before he grunts, blue eyes staring wide eyed into their counterparts, just as wide and shocked before they narrow and turn to chips of emerald.

Shit.

"Nar-.."

"Sakura-san! I'm sorry, but we need your assistance." Saved by this person that had interrupted them, twice now. Naruto wasn't sure he hated or loved this person for having a knack of interrupting crucial times. The first, when he almost got his first kiss –with Sakura-chan no less- and two, they had saved him from the inevitable wrath for just a little longer.

What was he _thinking_? Wait, he knew. All he wanted, for as long as he can remember, was to just kiss her. And here an opportunity arisen and he was jumping at the chance, Sakura not doing much but _staring_ –was that her version of acceptance?- at him as he leaned closer.

"All right," she nods, and gives the blond a glare before walking to the door. "Naruto, I'm not finished with you yet."

Naruto swallows hard for the third time that day, trembling in his boots as poison green eyes stare at him and disappear with a whip of pink hair. Once she's disappeared, he sits heavily on the bed, chest feeling like a ton of weight is tugging him down to the floor. He doesn't know if he's disappointed he didn't get to kiss her, or was dreading the time when she came back to beat him.

He grumbles and scratches his cheek absently, looking off to the side and at the wall, finding himself wondering what would have happened if that person didn't interrupt them. Would he have finally gotten to kiss his long-time crush? Would Sakura-chan somehow get something knocked back into her and pull away? Would he chicken out and pull away so she didn't have to?

"Man!" he shouted, grabbing a fistful of blond hair and tugging before burying his face into his hands. This was so confusing. He _liked_ being friends with Sakura-chan, but it wasn't _enough_. He wanted to be so much more to her. He wanted to be the person she went to when she needed a shoulder, he wanted to finally tell everyone that Sakura-chan really _was_ his girlfriend than having it be some joke or a lie. But most of all, he wanted to kiss her, to _show_ her how much she meant to him.

And he got so close, _so close_, to it in what seemed like not moments ago. He can still feel the ghost of a press of lips tingling on his mouth and he raises a hand to brush the feeling. So close.

Yet so far.

That was how it always was, even back when they were team seven. Sakura-chan was finally on his team,, could finally pay attention to him, but then Sasuke had to be too. Sasuke was his brother, but when it came to Sakura, he'd fight tooth and nail for her. He'd give his life for her. But he'd also give up his happiness for her.

Sometimes it made his heart ache with just how much he cared for her.

And how it seemed like he could never have her.


End file.
